adventures in compassionate eating

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Middle Eastern Salad

I love looking at beautiful food. Bright colors and thoughtful plating are always appreciated. I also enjoy making food with people I love, like my mother and sister. My sister, who normally exists on things like chips, soda, pizza, and chicken nuggets, says that I can make anything healthy look good. She’ll hesitate to try some of the stuff I make, but when she sees me eating, it makes her want to try it.

This past weekend we made a beautiful salad based on a recipe from an episode of The Barefoot Contessa. If I had a garden, I would make this all the time. Fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, basil, parsley, and mint. Fresh-squeezed lemon juice brightens everything up and chickpeas add protein. Next time I make this, I’ll probably add cooked bulgar as well, to bulk things up a bit.

When you chop the herbs and veggies, you can chop them as fine or as coarse as you want. I tend to leave the tomatoes and cucumbers a bit larger and chop the herbs more finely, but you don’t really want to mince them.